Levels of Emotional Intelligence in Turkish Pharmacy and Pharmacy Services Programs Students

Academic studies on the emotional intelligence levels of pharmacy services programs are limited, as are studies in the broader field of pharmacy. The objective of this study is to assess the levels of emotional intelligence (EI) among students enrolled in Pharmacy (PP) and Pharmacy Services Programs (PSP) and to explore potential variations in emotional intelligence levels based on age, gender, and academic year. During the autumn semester of 2021-2022, a voluntary participation approach was adopted, and a total of 275 students from the Pharmacy program and 76 students from the Pharmacy Services program at Atatürk University were included in the study. This cross-sectional study employed the Turkish version of the Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale, which was administered to the students via a questionnaire distributed through Google Forms. The mean general EI scores were found to be 157.08±15.1 for Pharmacy program students and 151.70±18.6 for Pharmacy Services program students. A statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups (p=0.026). However, no statistically significant difference was found between gender and the general score or any subscales of the Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale. The findings of this study indicate that the EI scores of students in both programs were slightly above average, with final-year students exhibiting the lowest scores. In order to promote optimal health outcomes and foster competent pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, it is recommended to incorporate educational practices that enhance emotional intelligence into the curriculum and reevaluate the existing curriculum accordingly.